UK Grid Reference: SW512401
Latitude: 50°12'28"N
Longitude: 5°29'14"W
Although both copper and tin ores were produced at Trenwith (13,080 tons of 11 per cent copper ore and 20 tons of black tin were raised between 1825-56), Trewith is, later, better known as uranium producer.
Henwood (1843) noted that difficulties in smelting the copper ores were due to the presence of pitchblende which the miners took for black copper oxide and on discovering their mistake, the ore was thrown on the dumps. This caused Henwood to write: "Was there ever an instance in which an acquaintance with Mineralogy and Chemistry would have been more useful".
After lying idle for more than 50 years the dumps were being worked for uranium ores in 1907. A newspaper report of the time is headlined "HEAP OF RUBBISH IS RICH IN RADIUM; Cornwall Mine from Which It Came to be Worked Again. BATHS MAY BE STARTED Medical Value of the Mineral Found in Pitchblende at St. Ives Is Now Recognized" (see New York Times archive below for the full article).
In 1908, Wheal Trenwith together with the adjacent St. Ives Consols and Rosewall Hill and Ransom United, and Giew Mine, 2 miles to the south, was taken over by St. Ives Consolidated Mines Ltd., which continued to rework the Trenwith dumps and the levels selectively above 60 fathoms. Between 1911-17, 694 tons of uranium ore were produced, mainly from dump material, although small, scattered, patches occurred underground in thin films in joints.
St. Ives Consolidated Mines were taken over by the Thermo Electric Corporation in 1917, the northern mines were abandoned, with work then concentrated on Giew Mine.
Much of the site is now a car park!
References
- Henwood, W. (1843): The Metalliferous Deposits of Cornwall and Devon. Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall 5, 1-386.
- Dines, H.G. (1956): The metalliferous mining region of south-west England. HMSO Publications (London), Vol. 1, pp. 117-118.
External Links
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9507E1D81738E033A25752C2A9649C946897D6CFMineral List
20 entries listed. 17 valid minerals.
The above list contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please
register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders
for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
Mineral and Locality Search
